


Down By the Creek

by danke_rose



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: F/M, Innuendo, Sex, Smut, kurtty - Freeform, suggestive talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:48:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24784132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danke_rose/pseuds/danke_rose
Summary: When Kitty stumbles on Kurt's secret swimming hole, they make a habit of meeting there throughout the summer.
Relationships: Kitty Pryde/Kurt Wagner
Comments: 45
Kudos: 16





	1. Path Not Taken

**Author's Note:**

> This is what I was working on when I wrote the Darkholme fic Accidental Encounter. I had all these ideas for where this could go, but doggone it, they just kept falling in love. Darkholme, however worked out, filling in one of those ideas. 
> 
> As usual, this is something I wrote for myself but am sharing with you all here. There's a little bit of silliness, some chit chat, and some sex at the end.
> 
> Chapter titles are inspired by the Robert Frost poem Kitty is reminded of, The Road Not Taken.
> 
> The link didn't want to work for the art that inspired this so I'm posting it here. https://www.deviantart.com/bluenique/art/contest-entry-Ncc-127343781

Kitty stormed out of the room, cursing under her breath and daring any of them to say another word to her. She gave a final glare and slammed the door behind her. Once she was away from them, she could breathe again. She inhaled until her lungs were full, bracing her hands on her hips and reasoning with herself. Everyone was on edge lately, the result of too much work to be done in too short a time. Now that it was nearly over, they seemed to be spilling their frustration after the fact.

A run would clear her head, or at least work up a sweat. Kitty still grumbled to herself as she phased up to her room and changed into a tank and shorts. The school property was huge, almost 2,000 acres, so Kitty chose a path she was familiar with, keeping to the wooded areas for shade. She could run down to the creek that fed the lake behind the property, then back up across the field, a good five mile run. Maybe by the end she'd be too tired to argue with her teammates.

Even under the shadowed awning of trees, it was hot and humid, and she was damp with sweat after only a few minutes. A single water bottle was probably not enough. Kitty considered turning back to get another, then decided to cut the run short if she had to.

The path meandered through the woods like a dusty squiggle between trees and bushes. Gradually, it wound closer to the ravine and the creek that ran through it. Sweat rolled down Kitty's spine and settled in the small of her back and her stomach and face, no matter how she wiped it. At least she was away from the house, where all her worries and irritations lived. It was quiet in the woods, and so peaceful she could almost forget all her cares. Not quite, but almost.

Kitty let her mind wander as she ran, skipping over work-related troubles and focusing on personal problems. Her ex-boyfriend Piotr didn't seem to grasp that she no longer loved him. She didn't want to cut him out of her life, and unless he left the team, she couldn't. The idea of Piotr still appealed to her. The idea of having a partner to help shoulder the burdens of being an X-Man was a dream she thought she might only find with Piotr. Other relationships had failed her, but he seemed always willing to take her back. Maybe they were meant to be together after all.

She appreciated all her friends, Ororo, Kurt, Logan, Illyana, Rachel, many others, and the roles they played in her life. She couldn't do what she did without them. They kept her grounded, supported her, and loved her. She never had to be alone if she didn't want to be. There was still something missing, though, and on days like today, when everything felt wrong, she wished she had that mystery _thing_.

Kurt hadn't been at the house that morning when she got into the scrap with her other friends. If he had, he probably would have been able to temper both sides. He was good at keeping the peace and keeping people happy. Kitty suspected it was driven, at least in part, by his need to be liked. If he had any idea how _much_ he was liked and loved by the whole team, would it change him? Thinking about Kurt made her wonder where he was. It wasn't like him to disappear—she laughed at her own joke. He must be around somewhere.

Kitty approached the fork in the path that meant a decision. She could either run along the top of the ravine and back around to the mansion, or choose the second path. That path was almost never used for jogging because of the steep descent and the overgrown roots that crowded onto the trail. Usually, Kitty took the first path, too, following it around and back to the mansion. It was almost exactly five miles, but today she didn't want it. She wanted to see the water, to hear the sound of it rushing over the rocks, and to force herself to slow down and pick her way over the roots. Perhaps it wasn't a run she'd been craving, but a moment to slow down. Maybe that was the _thing_ she was missing in her life.

She veered onto the lesser-used path, narrow and eroded in odd clefts between the roots, remembering a poem she'd read in school years ago. Something about choosing paths in a wood1. Rocks jutted up here and there, and she slowed to a walk to navigate them. Through the leaves ahead, something colorful flashed, and Kitty squinted through sweat to see what it was. Probably trash, blown in from town. She picked her way over another heavily rooted portion of the trail, then continued down the slope, not bothering to pick up her pace again.

The creek appeared little by little as she descended the path, cool water burbling over rocks and stones and logs. It was shallow and the rocky bottom made the water leap and bubble as it fell in its long descent from the mountain to the lake. The sound was soothing, mingling with birds chirping and a slight breeze dusting against the leaves. She stopped there, staring as she let the sounds and scent of the rushing water fill her mind. The rocks along the bank crunched beneath her sneakers as she inhaled the damp air, tinged with the smell of rocks and soil.

“I could just lie down in it,” she said aloud.

“Or you could swim,” said a voice she knew well. Kitty jumped, not expecting anyone to be there, let alone the object of her recent thoughts.

“Kurt?” she called, looking around for him. She couldn't see him anywhere. Had she imagined his voice? She climbed back onto the path, but she couldn't determine where his voice was coming from, the way it bounced off the rocks.

  
  


Kurt had heard the approaching footsteps and swum out into the creek until he could see who it was. It was shallow and narrow in most places, but at the bend it widened into a pool deep enough to swim in. On the far bank there was a waterfall—not the big, rushing Niagara Falls kind, but a small trickle of one, dropping down stair-steps of rocks from some offshoot of the creek Kurt hadn't bothered to investigate. His little grassy spot on the bank was camouflaged by nature, but not impossible to find. He'd discovered it ages ago, but had only regularly started visiting it recently, when the pressures of his job and thoughts of a woman began to keep him up at night.

“Right over here, Kätzchen.” He would have kept silent, had it been anyone else. Even with Kitty, he probably should not have said anything. But he was tired of pretending she was no different to him than any of his other friends. It was false, a lie, and he did not like to lie. The bigger problem, though, was deciding how much truth he could safely share with her.

Kitty walked up and down the path but still couldn't find him. “What the _hell_...”

“Walk toward the creek,” he said. He couldn't see her, either, but he knew how well hidden the approach to his swimming hole was from the path.

Kitty slowly made her way toward the water. There was a close huddle of trees that almost entirely obscured the creek with their leaves and greenery, overgrown bushes as tall as she was surrounding them, and she realized he was behind them.

She phased between two of the bushes and past a few more, and found herself standing on a small patch of grass, staring at a section of the creek that was not visible from the main trail. The creek had carved a pool at the bend, and Kurt was floating in the center, half-submerged on his back. On the shore sat a folding chair, a small cooler, and a few odds and ends.

“What are you doing out here? Have you been hiding here all morning?” She didn't bother hiding how happy she was to see him.

Kurt sat upright in the water, only his head and shoulders sticking out, and nodded. Kitty stood on the shore, hands on her hips, staring. Her tank top was stuck to her body with sweat, and she wiped at strands of hair plastered to her face. He pressed his straw hat onto his head and called across the water.

“ _Ach_ , the tension in the school was getting to me. I needed a break. You as well?”

“Yeah. And I got into it with a few people, so I thought I better go clear my head. Wish you'd been there.”

He chuckled. “Why? So you could yell at me, too?”

“No,” she said, giving him a hard stare. “Although _now_ I do.” She wiped more sweat off her forehead and flicked it to the side.

“Sorry,” he said, and had the good sense to look chagrined. “I'm a bit testy myself lately. Hence, I'm out here.” He held his arms out wide, gesturing to the little patch of land and water.

“We all are,” she said. “How'd you find this place?”

“An accident,” he said, and lifted his hat so he could see her better. “Scouting on the other side.” He pointed toward the higher creek bank, where the little waterfall spouted.

Kitty absently kicked at the stones under her feet. “So is this where you hide out when you're shirking trash duty?”

She didn't laugh, but she sounded lighter, more at ease. He settled the hat over his eyes and leaned back in the water. He gave a little kick with one foot to set himself spinning again. “Perhaps once or twice.”

Kitty wiped her brow again and scratched at the drying sweat on her neck that began to itch. “It's nice here. I should go and leave you be.”

He stopped his lazy circling in the water. He didn't want her to leave, not yet. “You don't have to. I don't mind if you stay. You can even yell at me if you want.” He gave her a wide grin, almost daring her.

Kitty was tempted. The water would be cold, the perfect contrast to the heat in the air, and Kurt was here. She took a long drink from her water bottle to stall for time.

“I don't know. It's hot standing here watching you swim.”

“So join me.”

“No swimsuit,” she replied reasonably.

Kurt only shrugged. “Why let that stop you from cooling off?”

“I'm not going skinny—Wait...” Kitty's eyes moved to the pile of clothes on the folding chair. “Are _you_ skinny dipping?” She squinted at the water, where the the sunlight reflecting into her eyes made it impossible to tell. Not that she was interested in seeing Kurt naked.

He sank back down to his neck in the water with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Maybe.”

It occurred to him that she might actually consider stripping off her sweaty clothes to swim. The thought was both exciting and terrifying, because of how much he wished she would do it. He watched her from below the brim of his straw hat, his heart bobbing into his throat with every beat.

In the last few months, she'd been creeping into his thoughts more and more, waking him in the night, and interrupting drinking nights with Logan. In the middle of a lecture, he'd suddenly see her face and wish she was there, standing beside him or smiling back at him from the class full of students. He missed her, too, so much since they had returned from Excalibur years ago.

When they first returned, the two of them had been partnered up for almost every mission. But as time went by, and things changed, it happened less and less frequently. Now, if they sat together on movie night, it was if Piotr wasn't there, or if one of them chased someone else from their spot. He missed the way she used to lean against him, dozing off sometimes if the movie bored her. Her head would take a sudden dip against his chest, and he'd find her eyes closed and her hand wrapped in his shirt.

On shore, Kitty weighed her options, then kicked off her shoes and socks and waded in. She was already dripping wet with sweat, she figured she might as well enjoy her clothes sticking to her. The water was cold enough to make her squeal a little, but refreshing, too. Once she got used to it, it felt wonderful. She dunked her head to wash away the sweat.

When she came up, wiping hair out of her eyes, Kurt was floating on his back again, only his shoulders and long toes visible. He had his hat pulled over his eyes again, and the most wicked thought sprang to her mind. She phased silently through the water, creeping closer as she watched his eyes for movement. When she was close enough, she reached over and tapped his chest.

He didn't startle. He grabbed her by the wrist, kissed her knuckles, and smirked.

“Gotcha,” he said and sent a spray of water at her with his tail.

“Oh, you're dead meat, Elf,” she replied.

1“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost. The last lines may be some of the most well-known, and are what Kitty is thinking of. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—; I took the one less traveled by; And that has made all the difference.”


	2. Roads Diverged

Kitty had to admit, she was glad she'd gone for this run, and joined Kurt to swim, even if he had won the splash battle that followed her failed prank. That failure was no surprise to her; Kurt had always been the one who excelled in that department. Kitty didn't care, though, as they floated idly in the shade of the trees. The sun crawled across the sky, bathing more and more of the creek in its light.

“Are you _really_ not wearing anything?” she asked, blinking one eye at him. The whole time they'd been chasing each other, she tried to catch a glimpse, to satisfy her curiosity. Though the water was somewhat clear, his fur was almost black when wet, she couldn't tell if he was naked or just wearing dark Speedos.

“Does it matter?” _Oh Gott, did it matter to her_? But she didn't answer.

“Have to get out soon,” Kitty mused. “All my sunscreen's washed off.”

“I don't get sunburned,” Kurt replied. “I can stay in as long as I want.”

“Too bad,” she said.

He sat up. “Why is that?”

His direct question, stated so simply, flustered her. Her cheeks warmed again and not from the sun or exertion. She looked away. “I was only kidding, Kurt.”

He didn't say anything, but dipped his head back to wet his hair again and then, to her horror, he started for the bank. She couldn't move, stricken by the thought of watching Kurt emerge from the creek, naked and dripping water. The image burned so brightly in her mind's eye that she couldn't speak, and long seconds passed before she finally managed to sputter something coherent.

“What are you doing?” A useless question, but at least they were words.

He turned, water dripping down his bare chest, moving inexorably lower. He gave her the most innocent look she'd ever seen him accomplish. “Getting out.”

Her feet had no traction on the rocky bed as she reached futilely to stop him. Oh god, if he got out of the water naked, she was going to die, right on the spot.

“Kurt, wait,” she begged. _Why_ rang through her head then, and she floundered again. What was wrong with her? Why did she suddenly, desperately want to see Kurt naked, and why was she frantically trying to keep it from happening?

Something in her voice stopped him. He turned around fully, crossed his arms, and regarded her calmly. Her eyes were wide even in the sun, and she was chewing her lip. “Yes?”

“Don't, I'll bring your shorts to you. I was only messing with you.”

He almost felt bad for teasing her. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her quite so flustered, and he wasn't sure if he was pleased or disappointed at his accomplishment.

“I know that,” he said, and took a single step back toward the bank. His grin started gradually, widening until the tips of his fangs were visible, still walking backwards. His hips began to raise above the water, and he said, “I was messing with you, too.”

Now Kitty could see that he wasn't naked at all, but wearing dark purple swim trunks. She stared, then thrashed awkwardly through the water after him. He bamfed away, only to appear just out of reach down the bank.

“ _You_!” she groused, unable to form any other words. She didn't even try chasing him but turned her back to him, wringing out her hair as she pouted. She wasn't actually angry, though, and her irritation soon turned to laughter.

“Is it safe for me to come back?” he said when he caught her chuckling.

“Yeah,” she said, feeling more self-conscious now than annoyed. It felt good to play, to be silly and joke around. There had been too little of that lately, for all of them.

He picked up a towel, started to dry off, then handed it to her instead. “I'm afraid I only have the one.”

“Thanks Kurt. You sure?” She avoided looking at his chest, bare and gleaming with water dripping down between the fine layer of fuzz. She wondered if it tickled, or if he could feel the water at all when it rolled down like that. She bit her tongue to keep from asking, because she was certain he would tell her.

He nodded, picking up his clothes from the chair and piling them on top of the cooler instead. He stretched his legs out and crossed one over his knee, leaning back in the chair with a sigh of contentment.

“I'm surprised Jean or Emma have never thought to look for me down here,” he said. “I come here now and then to escape the drama up there.” He jerked his thumb in the direction of the school.

“So in other words, don't tell?”

He smiled in response.

“I won't.”

Kitty's clothes were soaked, clinging to every curve of her body, and Kurt fought the desire to follow those curves with his eyes. He kept his attention on an oddly-shaped tree on the far bank while she brushed off a spot in the grass to sit and dry off before heading back to the school.

“Do you want the chair?” Kurt said, and she shook her head. Little droplets of water flew from her hair.

“Nope, I'm fine.”

He got down anyway and sat beside her, bumping her shoulder with his. “ _Are_ you?”

“What?”

“Are you really fine?”

She started to answer automatically, then thought better of it. She couldn't remember the last time someone honestly wanted to know how she was doing. “Mostly. This was fun, I definitely needed a break. What about you? Are you okay?”

Kurt leaned back on both arms. “ _Ja_. Mostly.”

“I'm tired of being on edge all the time,” Kitty said. She remembered how easy it had always been to talk to him, even when she was reluctant. “When I was younger, I took for granted that the rest of the team would take care of things. Of me. Now, I'm on the other side of that and half the time, I'm scared out of my mind. How do you deal with it?”

“Then or now?”

She considered. “Both.” She was curious.

He took a moment to think about his answers, and watched the soft tapping of his tail against the rocks.

“I joined the X-Men when I was nineteen, almost twenty. I'd been through hell. The team felt like an escape, and for a while it was. But things fell apart over time, as they sometimes do, and there were days I thought I would leave. When you joined us,” he paused to pass an affectionate smile her way, “I realized what I was really working for. All the upcoming generations of mutants. You gave me a goal to work for, in more ways than one, and that helped. Having friends helped, too.”

Kitty put her chin on her knees. “I hated being the baby of the team. I wanted to be grown—so badly.”

“I know. You made little secret of that. But you also had no trouble keeping up.”

“I know you all kept things from me.”

“Of course we did. You were a child.”

“Sometimes I still feel like you keep things from me.”

“Is that _you_ meaning the team, or _you_ meaning me?”

“Both.”

“I don't think the team keeps anything of importance from you. You've more than proven yourself, to them and to me. What is it you think I'm keeping from you?”

“I don't know,” she said, sorry for saying it. “I guess I just meant...I miss your company.”

“What a fantastic coincidence. I miss yours, too.”

She tipped her head against his shoulder, feeling the familiar warmth and rush of contentment she always did when she was close to him. He put his arm around her, then held out one hand, gesturing at the scenery around them.

“Why don't you come out here now and then, when the weather is nice? It can be our little hideaway.”

Something about the way he said _our hideaway_ made her heart skip.

“Thanks Kurt. If you hadn't said anything, I would never have known you were here.”

“I know.”

She stared across the creek and said, “Why did you?”

Beside her, he was quiet and still, except for the fingers lightly rubbing at her shoulder. “I suppose,” he said after a long pause, “Because your company has never felt oppressive.”

“Thanks. Yours never has either.”

She put her arms around his neck in an awkward hug that had him laughing as she planted a noisy kiss on his cheek. A breeze blew through, still humid, and provided no relief from the heat. Kitty borrowed Kurt's towel again and put on her shoes and socks.

“I have to get back,” she said. “Thanks for this.”

“Any time, Kätzchen,” he said without getting up, trying to hide his disappointment.

Kitty hesitated, watching the tip of his tail flap back and forth softly in the grass. “I guess you're staying a little longer?”

He tipped his head up. “ _Ja_ , a little. See you later.”

Kitty pushed her way back through the bushes and trees to the path, but her heart wasn't in the run anymore. She went back the way she'd come, the shorter route, wondering why she hadn't stayed the afternoon with him.


	3. Just As Fair

Days passed in the usual scurry of missions and catastrophes, and thunderstorms that prevented Kurt from going to the creek. He had other ways of filling the hours when they were free, but his thoughts kept returning to the afternoon with Kitty. It had been a while since he'd seen her relax like that, laughing and playing. By the time the weather and schedule had both cleared, it had been almost two weeks since she found his swimming hole.

Logan wanted to run sims in the Danger Room all morning, so it was well after noon when he finally found time to get away. It was hot, and the water would be refreshing. After a brief search, he found Kitty in the hallway, talking to one of her students.

“Hey, Kurt,” she said absently when her student left. She had a stack of papers in her hands and she flipped through them before turning her attention to him. He leaned against the wall, letting his tail thwap against it. The memory of her dripping wet crowded his mind, and it took him longer than it should have to answer her. He lifted himself from the wall, wasting more seconds as he tried to remember what he was going to ask her.

“You okay?” she said, catching his hand in hers.

“ _Ja_ , _ja_ , sorry, I was distracted. I wanted to—I'm going to the creek.”

He prepared himself for her answer, turning him down gently, explaining she was busy, maybe some other time.

“Can I come?” she said.

Kitty cocked her head to follow the flickering motion of his eyes. He looked nervous, or upset, and she felt selfish for asking to go with him. He probably wanted to be alone, and was only telling her out of his sense of courtesy. Now that she knew he went there, maybe he felt obligated to tell her. She put her arm around his waist, balancing her papers in the other. It wouldn't be the first time he'd told her she couldn't come with him.

“Never mind,” she said, “You look like you need some alone time.”

He sputtered. “No—no I was looking for you, to ask you to come with me.” He let his arms go around her and his chin fall into her hair. He didn't need solitude or a creek, he needed her. This. The longer they stood there, the more relaxed he felt. Denying what he felt for her was getting him nowhere good.

“It's okay if you want to be alone.”

He wanted to kick himself. How had he botched this already? “I _don't_. I _want_ you to come with me.”

She let go of him and sat back on one hip. “Okay. But I mean it, if you wanna be alone, I can stay here.”

He let out a short sigh of frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

“Must I get on one knee to convince you?” he said, and in the spirit of the moment, he dropped to the floor, hands raised in supplication. “Please, fair lady, join me at my secret swimming hole.”

A few kids passing by in the hall stared, and Kitty felt her face flush with color. She yanked at his hands. “Okay, I get it, already. Where do I meet you and when?”

“Immediately. Half the day is already gone. I'll meet you at your room and we'll go the quick way.”

  
  


Kitty packed a bag, finishing when he came in through her open door.

“Ready?”

She nodded and took his hand. He looked better, she admitted, but she wondered what had upset him earlier. Maybe he'd tell her. If not, they were there to play, after all.

One teleport later, and Kitty was coughing in the same little grassy spot she'd stood before. Kurt kept a hand at her elbow until she stopped, and began setting up his chair and the cooler. He had his back to her, so she shamelessly watched him pull off his shirt, muscles rippling across his back as he lifted his arms and tossed the shirt aside. She'd seen him shirtless countless times, but it always made her breath catch. He was stunning, really, even among his super peers. She wondered why she hadn't paid more attention. During Excalibur he was always wandering around with a shirt half open, or none at all, or—the memory of his examination in the Cloud Nine facility came back to her, plastering the image of his nearly naked body in her mind's eye. She'd been too distracted and angry to notice then. Now, in hindsight, she wished she'd looked.

Kitty snapped back to reality when he caught her looking, standing stupidly with her bag in her hand.

“Kätzchen?” he said, and that eyebrow shot up. “Still queasy?”

“Oh. No, sorry. I was—I was thinking about Excalibur for a minute. Lost in thought.” She chuckled for emphasis. _No, I wasn't staring at you and daydreaming about how sexy you are._ And then _holy shit I was daydreaming about how sexy Kurt is._ She dropped her bag.

“No skinny dipping today, okay?” he said, grinning at her as she put her things down beside his.

“Bummer,” she quipped and immediately wished she hadn't.

“Well, if you really _want_ to...” He wiggled his hips at her, grinning that elfin grin.

“Oh my god, you're the worst,” she said, and she threw her coverup at him.

He didn't even have to dodge, the fabric flying loose in the air and fluttering to the grass long before it neared him. He shook his head and tutted at her. “Pathetic. You'll have to practice a lot more if you're going to hit me with your clothing.”

Kitty's face burned, but she wasn't one to back down. She narrowed her eyes at him and reached behind her neck. She enjoyed the way his face froze and his eyes widened when he thought she was undoing her swim top. Instead, she took the ponytail elastic out and held it like a slingshot.

The playful expression returned to his features, along with a deep breath, and he coughed out a laugh. “You can't possibly hit me with that.”

“Oh?” she stepped closer and closer as he backed up more and more, and finally turned, running into the water and diving shallowly beneath the surface. Kitty waded out after him, the cold water a shock again at first. He emerged some distance away, and she shrugged, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

Convinced he was no longer in danger, he swam back leisurely, holding his hands out in a gesture of truce. She grabbed them, twisting her fingers between his.

Kurt watched the casual way she laced her fingers between his, as an easy smile settled into his features. He always felt this way with her, aside from wanting her desperately of course. Everything else was ridiculously natural.

“You looked stressed out earlier. Everything okay?” she said. She leaned back, trusting him not to let her fall as she dipped her hair into the water.

“ _Ja_ , Kätzchen, everything is just right.” He pulled her upright and she fell into an embrace, squeezing him tight for a second before releasing him with a peck on his cheek.

“You can always tell me anything, you know. I don't mean you have to, just that you _can_.”

“I know that. Thank you.” He gave the slightest of tugs and she dropped against his chest again without hesitation.

“I'm so glad we're friends,” she said, and she kissed him right where her cheek was resting.

With no small effort, he replied, “So am I, s _chatzi_. I am so glad you were the one I woke to after my coma.”

“Really? You don't wish it had been Logan?” She hadn't meant to ask. It was a question she'd often asked herself in the dark, usually when it was only the two of them around. She often thought he would have been happier if it had been any of his friends but her.

He put a hand on her face for emphasis, realizing too late how intimate a gesture it was. But he blundered on anyway. “No. I never wished it was anyone else.”

She gave him a good squeeze and backed up, letting his fingers slip through her hands as she rolled in the water to swim off. He leaned back and let himself go under, hoping the cold water on his face would bring him back to reality.

  
  


On the bank, drying off on towels laid out side by side, they watched the sky change colors. Evening was upon them at last, and in spite of the snacks, Kitty was hungry. Kurt rolled onto his stomach with a soft sigh.

“Piotr asked me out,” Kitty said. She'd been wanting to tell him for days, but hadn't found the right opportunity.

Kurt's head came up off the towel and he braced on his elbows. She stared at the sky, turning pink at the fringes of the trees. The sunset was probably beautiful from the open space behind the school. Here at the creek, the trees obscured most of it. He didn't say anything.

“I said no.”

Still he said nothing. She turned her head and looked at him, but his eyes were steady and his mouth was closed. He was listening, without comment or judgment. “I don't know why he asked me,” she said, but her eyes were fixed on his. “He loves me, I think.”

“He _thinks_ he loves you,” Kurt said at last.

“You don't think he does?”

Kurt closed his mouth, and she wished he would open it again and show her his teeth. Fangs. Could he really cut his own tongue on them, as he'd once told her? She wanted to touch those teeth with her tongue, feel them scrape against her lips.

“I don't know, Kätzchen.” It wasn't until he spoke that she realized he was staring at her as intently as she was staring at him. “How you feel about him is the more relevant question.”

“I love him,” she said.

Kurt's heart stopped beating. His breath ceased, his blood stopped flowing, his nerves went numb. He couldn't blink his eyes away from those pink lips that had just spoken the words he had dreaded hearing. It couldn't have been more than a fraction of a second between her first words and the following, but it felt like eternity.

“But only as a friend. I'm not in love with him.”

Kurt took a breath, the world going right again, color flooding everything around him. He pushed up stiffly to his knees. “That is all that matters then,” he said. “We better head back.” Not because he wanted to, but because he was afraid of what he might tell her if they stayed any longer.


	4. The Better Claim

They went in the morning a few weeks later, before breakfast, even before most of the school was awake. They'd planned it the night before and all they had to do was grab their lunch cooler and Kitty's bag. The plan was to spend an entire day relaxing by the water, doing nothing if they wanted. There was nothing particularly different about their recent missions or the series of attacks, nothing to set them apart from any other weeks of time in the lives of the X-Men. It was more the idea that this private space existed apart from everything else that made it so appealing.

Kurt had a project in mind, a surprise he saved for after they arrived and had set out their towels and coolers.

“What's the rope for?” Kitty asked, noting the pile of thick cord lying coiled by his feet.

“I thought I would try to make a swing. The last time we were here, I noticed a large tree...” He pointed to it, growing out over the bend in the creek. “There. See that branch?”

It was a large branch, and it stretched over their heads far enough that Kitty thought the swing might work. Kurt easily climbed up and attached it while Kitty tied a sturdy knot in the bottom. Then Kurt gave it a test run.

“Not head-first, of course,” he said when he emerged, looking pleased with himself.

Kurt made it look so easy. Clinging to the rope was a natural extension of his talents from his circus days as an acrobat, and in keeping with his usual antics on the team as well. Kurt could climb anything, Kitty was sure of that. In fact, she was positive, because if he couldn't grasp a hand or foot hold, he'd just stick to the surface. Imagine looking around and knowing nothing you saw could stop you? She laughed to herself because the same was true for her, but in a different way.

Kitty took the rope, which Kurt pulled onto the shore for her and held. She set her face and took a good grip on the rope before swinging out over the water. She wanted to screech with laughter but the rope was spinning her wildly and she clung tighter until finally letting go, splashing into the creek on her back.

Lunch was a picnic they'd both packed parts of, which they ate sitting on their towels facing each other. After lunch and another, more relaxing swim, they laid out on the towels and dozed until the first crack of thunder jolted them upright.

“That came out of nowhere,” Kitty said, and rain began. One moment it was dry, the next it was pouring. A crack of lightning shot through the sky followed by more thunder. Shrieking with laughter, they gathered their things to teleport back. Rain was one thing but lightning was different.

Kurt grabbed her arm and when they arrived, she stumbled in her disorientation. They were not in her room, or his room, or even in the mansion anywhere.

“Logan's hunting cabin,” Kurt said before she asked.

“He hunts?” she said incredulously.

Kurt chuckled as he shoved the coolers aside. “ _Nein_ , not as such. He loves the creatures of the forest. He likes to pet them. But better not tell anyone.”

“I never knew this place existed. It's not on any of the security feeds.”

“Charles wanted to, but Logan refused.”

Kitty turned a slow circle and took in the small space. It was no more than a small bedroom, maybe nine square meters, and almost empty. The windows had glass panes, though, and there was a sleeping bag rolled up in a corner.

“I wasn't ready to go back,” Kurt said, looking chagrined. “I hope you don't mind.”

Kitty smiled. “I don't mind. I wasn't ready, either.” She opened the door and looked out as another roll of thunder shook the walls and lightning streaked across the sky. “But now what?”

Kurt swept cobwebs away with a small broom that hung on a peg. Their towels and clothes were soaked. They left wet footprints on the dusty wooden floorboards. Water ran in rivulets from their hair. The downpour had been sudden and effective.

“We continue relaxing until the storm passes, and then go back to the creek. I imagine it will look quite different when it's full of rainwater.”

He stood behind her at the door, propping his elbows on her shoulders and his chin on her head. She leaned back until he moved his arms and folded them across her in a hug.

Kurt wished he could lean down, sweep that wet hair aside, and kiss her neck until she was speechless. He sighed as he dreamed, and she turned around, one brow cocked. “What are you sighing about? It's just rain.”

“They are assigning me to the California job,” Kurt said. “Logan told me yesterday.”

“How does he know?”

“A little bird told him,” Kurt said without humor.

Kitty put her arms around his waist and he settled against her without hesitation. They fit together so naturally, she thought. Easily. “More likely a weather goddess,” Kitty said.

She tipped her chin up to look at him, wishing he would lean down and kiss her. _How romantic it would be, to stand here in a hidden cabin in the woods, kissing_? She almost laughed aloud at her next thought: _probably not very, if they wanted to do anything past kissing_.

“Mm, probably. But if it's true, which I must assume it is, I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

“How long?”

“I don't know. A week at least. Maybe longer.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“I will.” She put her head down, cuddling closer.

She felt so good next to him. He let himself relax, his arms still around her, his fur flattened against her smooth damp skin. He breathed in the scent of her hair, shampoo mixed with creek water and rain.

  
  


Kitty went to the creek once while Kurt was gone. She was running, took the second path, and stood looking at the swimming hole and the empty grass space where they usually laid their towels. It felt deserted, rather than peaceful. Instead of filling her mind with soothing comfort, she was restless. She left to finish her run and did not go back until he was home.

At last he returned, slightly battered, his uniform slightly damaged, but with no serious injuries. Those had been Logan's to earn, and he had already healed. Still, her relief was intense, and when he and the rest of the small team passed through the hall, startling her, she ran to Kurt without thinking, throwing her arms around his neck. He caught her, one handed, and held her just as tight. He had cuts and scrapes, bruises she couldn't see, and a possibly fractured wrist, he told her, his trophies from their week on the West Coast.

She buried her eyes against his uniform and gripped the back so hard it puckered. Kurt's good hand remained firm against her shoulders and with his injured hand, touched a spiral of curl that had slipped free of her ponytail. He bent to whisper in her ear how glad he was to be home, and she raised her eyes to his, having completely forgotten anyone else was there.

“Gotta get the Elf to the infirmary, Half-Pint,” Logan said and she let go of Kurt abruptly. The rest of the team had already gone to the infirmary or their rooms or the kitchen. She hadn't even noticed their departure.

“Sorry,” she began, but Kurt interrupted.

“Don't be. I don't think I've ever been welcomed home quite so nicely.” His golden eyes flashed when he smiled, and she wondered what else he wanted to say, but wasn't.

She blushed. She could feel it, heat climbing up her neck into her face. She gave Logan a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, and walked off without another word.

“So where do you two sneak off to all the time?” Logan said.

Kurt was a little surprised it had taken Logan this long to bring it up. He knew his friend must have suspected something. He would have smelled the creek on both of them. Kurt didn't mind telling Logan, but he still hesitated. It would ruin it, somehow, to tell. The magic of it would be lost.

“Oh, here and there,” he hedged.

Logan growled, and Kurt was grateful that his friend didn't feel the need to press him today.

“Come on, Elf, Hank needs to look at that wrist.”


	5. Way Leads to Way

Kitty left Logan and Kurt in the hall and walked away with her head spinning. She didn't know what had compelled her to attack him with such... _love_. It _was_ love, she realized, a love she was only coming to understand in the past few months of sneaking off to be alone together. Strange that she couldn't see it before, but perhaps the weight of everything else in their lives that seemed so much more important—saving the world, saving mutants, saving their teammates—had shrouded her perception. Sitting in the sun beside a cold creek had lifted some of that haziness from her eyes and her heart and let her see the depth of her feelings for him, possibly for the first time.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up her freshly washed swimsuit. Understanding her feelings for Kurt was only half of her problem. The other half was what to do about it. She could probably tell him outright, and he'd let her down gently and pretend everything was the same. But it wouldn't be. It would keep him at a distance, and eventually, maybe the distance would become too far to cross. Or, would he see her the way she saw Piotr now, wanting to maintain that friendship but unable to, knowing the other's feelings were always there, just waiting for an opportunity to test the waters again, hoping maybe this time they might find love?

No. She didn't want any of that. She wished it could be easier. If—she startled and blushed when Kurt knocked hard on her door.

“Lost in thought, eh Kätzchen?” he said.

“Oh. Yeah.” She set the swimsuit down. “So is it broken?” she asked, indicating the cast on his wrist.

He held his hand up as if remembering it. “Hairline fracture. You were thinking of swimming? Worried we can't go?” He waved the cast back and forth and stopped in front of her at the side of the bed.

“Oh. Yes, and no.”

“Good news. It's waterproof.”

“Really?”

He chuckled at her reaction. “So you _were_ disappointed. _Ja_ , it's waterproof, and best of all, I'm off heavy duty until it heals.”

Kitty gathered up the rest of her swimsuits, which she'd left in a pile on her bed after they dried. She had more than she thought, which was funny since she'd never spent that much time swimming. The red one-piece from her Excalibur days no longer fit, but the pink bikini from the cruise home did, and somewhere along the way, she'd been shopping with Rogue or Jubilee or Illyana and bought a few more.

“Well that's good. What a shame we have to get injured to get a few days off.” He sat down on her bed, watching her stack the swimsuits.

When she folded the top of the pink one, and set it on the stack, he said, “That one is my favorite.”

She must have looked horrified, because in the next second, he was stammering and standing up, nearly falling over his own feet. “I—it reminds me—the cruise—that was fun. After Excalibur.”

“It's my favorite, too,” she said, and she patted his arm when she passed him, carrying them to her dresser. “Too bad all of yours look the same.”

His laugh still had an edge of nervousness to it. “I was told in no uncertain terms that only _shorts_ are acceptable here.”

“Oh yeah, most guys in the States don't wear speedos unless they're competing. It's a double standard, if you ask me. Guys get to ogle us in our teeny bikinis, but we can't do the same?”

“I agree. Unfair. Should I get mine out again?”

“I don't know, are you inviting me to gawk at you?” If she turned around, her eyes would go straight to his crotch, she just knew it. She turned around anyway. He was crouched on the very edge of her bed, looking about to fall off any moment. She couldn't see his crotch. “Wait a minute. Have you been gawking at me?”

He laughed uneasily and looked profoundly uncomfortable, sliding one hand through his hair and half covering his face in the process. “No-o... But I suppose I...” He coughed. “...in any case, perhaps I should ask how the week was here, while I was gone?”

Kitty didn't laugh but she was still amused at his discomfort. Imagine Kurt Wagner, renowned flirt, embarrassed by _her._

“Oh. It was fine,” she said.

She closed the drawer behind her. It slammed unexpectedly when she leaned against it, and she jumped. Across the room, even Kurt startled at the sudden noise. Kitty's eyes went wide and then she laughed, a stupid, sputtering laugh that made her cover her face. “We're such idiots,” she said at last.

Kurt began to laugh, too, more easily, and he finally stood up.

Kitty let her arms drop. “You wanna go swimming or what?” she said.

  
  


He didn't wear the speedo, and she didn't wear her bikini. Late July sun beat down on the creek, highlighting the rocks under the water. Kitty didn't get in the water right away, but sat down on her towel with her knees drawn up to her chin.

“So what's on the other side?” she said.

“Hm?”

“You said you were on the other bank scouting and that's how you found this place. What's over there?”

“Not much. A smaller creek that feeds the waterfall. I suspect it's an offshoot of this one from farther upstream. But I don't know for sure. And Logan's cabin.”

“I wondered where it was,” she said.

Kurt had laid his own towel down beside her, the coolers on either side of them so there was no space between them. He'd long since stopped bringing the chair, since he never used it when Kitty was here. He wanted to be close to her and he couldn't do that from a chair. He gave a little laugh. “We were up there drinking when I found this place.”

“You fell because you were drunk?” She laughed then, picturing Kurt tumbling down the hill and discovering the little swimming hole.

Kitty stood up and walked over to the shallowest part of the creek, across from the waterfall, and crossed, the water barely up to her ankles in some places, her knees where it was deepest. He watched her, not ashamed enough to stop. She stopped under the waterfall and held her hands up, letting the water splash onto her palms. When she turned around, her face was scrunched up in a wide grin.

“I never stood under a waterfall,” she said, but her smile didn't last. “What?”

His fault, he was staring. He grinned and got up, trotting across the water to join her. “Neither have I,” he said, and he was glad to see the smile return. “It's too much like a cold shower.”

“I thought people took cold showers _alone_ ,” she quipped.

He didn't even know how to respond to that. Was she joking? She laughed and stepped out of the water. “There you go. _Now_ it's a cold shower.”

He was actually glad the water was so cold.

“Why did I bring you here?” he said, shaking himself a little as he emerged from the waterfall. He waded through the creek to their usual swimming spot and Kitty joined him.

“Because you love my company,” she said, splashing him when she caught up.

“True.”

  
  


“How are things with Piotr?” Kurt asked while they were eating.

Kitty shrugged. “The same. I don't think he can handle being friends when he still...” She shook her head slowly.

“When he still loves you, or believes he loves you?”

“Yeah. Kurt, why is it so hard? We never even...it was years ago.”

“I don't know,” he replied honestly, ignoring what she'd almost told him. “I once asked Logan the same thing. He didn't have a helpful answer.”

“Well it's Logan. You should have asked Ororo.”

“Why Ororo?” He didn't say he couldn't ask her when she was included in the dilemma they were discussing.

“She stays friends with everyone.”

“Even T'Challa?”

Kitty nodded. “Yeah, only she doesn't talk about him much.”

He started to eat, then realized what Kitty was saying. “Wait, what are you saying? Who has Ororo dated?”

“On the team? I don't know, at least a couple people. She's really private about it. You should know.”

“Me? Why would I know?”

“Didn't you two, y'know...” She waved her fingers in the air.

“No, no, we never... Who told you that?”

She smiled innocently at him. “I'm not telling.”

He smiled back and stretched out on his towel. “Hm, then I suppose you don't want to know who told me about your current crush.”

Kitty felt all the color drain from her face. “What?” she managed.

“Oh _yes_ , something about a striking blond gentleman with wings...”

Kitty realized with a rush of relief that he was teasing. He knew her better than to believe she'd have a crush on Warren Worthington. She gave his shoulder a shove and lay down on her own towel to let the blood make its way back up to her brain.

He elbowed her side playfully in return. “No? Is my source mistaken?”

“ _My_ source told me _you've_ been sending love notes to a tall, dark British woman whose brother broke your leg.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, s _chatz_ , I have not been writing love letters to anyone. I only made phone calls.”

“Would you?” Kitty asked, turning serious as she rolled to her side to look at him.

“Call Betsy? No. She's beautiful, certainly, but I'm not interested.”

“I mean love notes. Would you ever write one?”

“I hadn't thought about it, honestly. I've never needed to.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “Modest. So, not even just for romance's sake?”

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“Huh. I would've thought for sure you were the kind who wrote love letters.”

“Cerise was in space, and honestly I don't know if she could read English without her universal translator. Amanda never stayed in one place, and I don't think she would have been all that interested. She always preferred to...to visit in person. There was no one else I'd consider writing to in that way. What about you?”

“Never got one, never wrote one. Piotr and I didn't stay together long enough, and Pete...well, I don't think I need to explain.”

“No.” He didn't even want to think about Pete Wisdom. That relationship had been odd at best, problematic at worst. But he had no room to talk and so he let it be, as always, preferring to stay quiet about it. He sat up and rubbed his back and stretched. The cold water had tightened up the muscles in his back, and now all the little aches and pains that come from defeating villains began to demand his attention. His wrist ached, his back twinged, and something on the back of his leg stung, probably a cut or scrape.

He felt Kitty's hand on his side, a spot of warmth even in the sun's heat. He scooted on the towel a little, and she sat up without a word. She pressed her hands along both sides of his spine, phasing into the muscle now and then when she found a knot. She stopped as silently as she'd begun, and they packed up their things to go back to the school.

  
  


Kurt left her at her room but he couldn't stop thinking about her. Every conversation had felt laced with innuendo, and then that surprise massage. She'd never touched him like that before. He kept remembering her hands on his back, warm and soft, sometimes scratching her nails lightly into his fur. She didn't talk, and he hadn't either, afraid that it would somehow break the spell. Now, he wanted more than ever to feel her hands on him, everywhere. Warm and soft, sliding through his fur. He needed a cold shower for real, but it would probably make his back ache again...of course...

He was surprised when she knocked on his door. She'd changed into shorts and a T-shirt and she had a movie in her hands. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “I know we just got back, but...” She held up the movie with a hopeful grin. “It's pirates.”

“I'll get some popcorn,” he said.

Usually, if one of them fell asleep during a movie, it was Kitty, tucked up warm against Kurt's shoulder. Usually, Kurt couldn't tear his eyes from a pirate movie, even one as silly as this had turned out to be. Kitty had noticed him sagging before they were even halfway through the movie, and she angled herself so he could lean on her without crushing her. Eventually, he'd just laid his head in her lap and begun to snore softly, his hand curling lightly around hers.

  
  


The rest of the summer was lost to a ridiculous search for one of Magneto's former Acolytes who'd gone rogue and was terrorizing small towns across the country. Even though they were on the same team, there was no down time, and what they did get was spent sleeping or eating. By the time they found and stopped the Acolyte, the summer was spent.

Nights became chilly again, and swimming in the creek wasn't fun when it was cold. Kurt hated the thought of losing that time, just the two of them, not thinking about work or fighting or anything they didn't want to think about. He didn't want to give up that time with her, lying beside her, her hand in his, or resting on his chest. He could program the Danger Room, but they certainly couldn't monopolize it for hours at a time, and they could be interrupted. He began to consider sneaking her off to Logan's hunting cabin and taking card games and snacks and maybe some wine, candles, a mattress.

They watched movies together, curled on his couch or hers, and they went into town one weekend to eat pizza when Kitty was tired of leftover pasta at the school. He still enjoyed his time with her. She still smiled and laughed when they were alone. But more and more he felt it wasn't enough.

Kitty missed the creek days, too, hours drifting in the cold water or lying on a towel next to him, the fuzz of his arm brushing against hers. Some of the students planned a trip to the pumpkin patch one weekend, and she asked if he'd like to go along. Though he smiled, she could tell something was missing.

“It might be nice to get away from this place, even if it's just picking pumpkins. Are you sure?” She put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the tension there, following it up to the back of his neck.

“I think it would be best if I stayed here,” he said. “I am never entirely comfortable using the image inducer.”

“Okay.” He was perched on the back of the couch pretending to watch some hockey game with Logan. “You wanna come, Logan?” she asked, casually stepping to the side, directly behind Kurt. She put both hands on his shoulders and began massaging the tightness there.

Gradually she felt him relaxing more and more, his posture almost melting. Too late, she realized he was tipping back against her, until she lost her balance and they were toppling. She shrieked, he teleported, and they landed flipped around on his bed. It was quite a stunt, if she'd had time to think about it, to keep him from crushing her.

Kitty started laughing as she climbed off his back and flopped down beside him. “That was close,” she said between laughs.

“ _Ja_.”

He propped himself on his elbow, one hand braced on the other side of her torso as he looked down into her face. She was utterly lovely, smiling and laughing, her hair spilled out beneath her on the bed. Her lips were softly parted, her eyes were fixed on his, and he heard only the sound of her breathing. Her hand moved to his chest, a familiar gesture but always one that made his heart twist with longing.

Kitty was sure he was going to kiss her. He was looking into her eyes, leaning closer, his lips parted. God those lips, she wanted to feel them on her skin, taste them, slide her tongue along the smooth inside of them. He was going to kiss her. She was sure of it until he sat up abruptly and cleared his throat.

He scratched at the back of his neck while she blinked through her shock and disappointment. “ _Ach_ , I'm sorry about that. It was my fault we fell.”

“It's okay,” she said.

“I could have hurt you.”

“You'd never hurt me.”

“Not on purpose, no.”

“I wasn't afraid.”

He stood up and offered his hand. “I should go back downstairs. Logan will wonder.”

“Yeah. Who knows what he might think.” She said flatly, and let go of his hand at the door. “I have to meet the kids anyway. Pumpkin patch.”

“Have a good time, Kätzchen.”

  
  


She spent the ride there thinking about what happened. She couldn't decide if he wanted to kiss her but was afraid _she_ didn't want him to, or if he was such a flirt that it was automatic and it was he who didn't want to kiss her. By the time they got back to the school, truck loaded with pumpkins, she'd come up with a plan.


	6. All the Difference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains sex.
> 
> Always safe and consensual, even if not explicitly stated.

Kitty didn't wait. She wanted an answer to her questions, and an end to her longings one way or the other. It was _Kurt_. If he wasn't interested, he'd get over it ( _she hoped_ ). They'd been through too much for him to just throw it away if she got the urge to kiss him and if he did, then he wasn't the friend she'd thought he was ( _right_?). But she didn't think that would happen ( _would it_?).

She found Kurt playing pool with Remy and Logan in the rec room the next evening, after the sun had gone down. She snuck up behind him when he was taking a shot, finger to her lips. Remy and Logan were always in on a good prank, and neither one gave away a thing. Just as Kurt moved his arm forward, she tickled his ribs. He jumped, hit Remy in the head with the pool cue, and his shot went wide.

“ _Was zum Teufel_?!” he exclaimed as he spun around. Kitty's face was a mix of guilt and triumph, but once he recovered himself, he laughed. “I've lost now, thanks to you,” he said, ticking his finger under her chin.

“I need to talk to you. Now you can leave the game and not feel bad.” She smiled sweetly.

“Sadly, she's right,” Kurt said to his friends, wondering about that smile.

“You'da lost anyway, Elf,” Logan said as Kurt ushered Kitty out of the room, leaning close to whisper in her ear.

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I just wanted to ask you something, in private.”

Fortunately she didn't make him wait long. As soon as they were in the hall, she turned to him. “I want to go to the creek.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Now. I know it's cold and dark, but—”

“All right.”

“—it's private and—oh. Okay, great.” She smiled again, even sweeter when it was real.

  
  


It wasn't so dark Kitty couldn't see. The moon was up, and it cast its white light onto the water, reflecting it back in ripples against the trees. It was crazy, Kitty thought, to want to do this. It was crazier that he'd agreed so immediately. Once she collected her stomach from her knees, she took Kurt's hand and walked closer to the water's edge, leaning onto his arm. He moved, laying it across her shoulders and stood quietly looking at the creek in the moonlight.

Finally he said, “You said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yes. I did. It's about yesterday.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No. Not—no.”

“What? Are you sure?” He searched her eyes, his arm no longer warm on her shoulders. Instead he had his hands on her shoulders, as he looked steadily at her and awaited her answer.

“Yes. I—were you going to kiss me?”

She couldn't see much of his features with it so dark, but she could see enough, moonlight reflecting off the fuzz on his cheekbones and the tip of his nose. And his eyes were clear and bright as they studied her face and filled with regret.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean—I didn't _intend_ —”

“I wish you had.” Her answer was not going to be what she had hoped. Still, she pressed on, needing the certainty of him telling her, clearly, leaving no doubt.

“You wish...” His eyes darted back and forth between hers, as if he didn't quite understand her words.

“Do you wish you had?” She took his hand. “Please, Kurt. Just tell me the truth.”

She waited as patiently as she could, willing herself to stay silent. He pulled his fingers free of hers and touched her cheek. “ _Gott_ yes.”

“Kiss me then.”

His hand on her cheek slid into her hair, and he leaned down, touched those delicious lips to hers at last. His other hand moved to her waist, curving around her side to her back as he stepped closer. She had imagined how he might kiss her, but he was gentle and soft, and she wanted to devour him. She slid one hand up his neck and grasped his hair, opened her mouth wider, and pushed her hand inside his coat to creep her fingers up his back.

He understood and responded with enthusiasm. Bracing her back with one strong arm, he tipped her, arching her back so that her hips pressed wantonly against his. His tongue slipped deeper into her mouth and his tail began twisting around her leg.

When they stopped for breath she let her cheek drop against his coat.

“Is that really why you wanted to come here tonight?” Kurt said. He had his arms around her, holding her against him as if she might bolt.

“Yes. I wanted to say something to you for a while but I wasn't sure, and this seemed like the right place. But we weren't coming back anymore.”

“Who says we can't come here anymore? We might not swim, but...I think we might pass the time in other, hopefully even more pleasant ways.”

“Are you suggesting we come to the creek and make out all winter?”

“I am. In fact...”

He tipped her chin up with one hand, and she could see the glint of his teeth in the moonlight as he bent to kiss her. She dropped one hand to his waist, fingers creeping under the hem of his shirt and dragging through the short fur. He made a soft hum of satisfaction and pressed closer. His hands circled her waist, gliding over her skin beneath her shirt. She sighed as the kiss broke and he nuzzled into her neck, kissing under the line of her jaw as his hands moved over her back.

“It's cold out here,” Kitty said, when at last she began to shiver from more than his touch.

Kurt mumbled an agreement from between her neck and shoulder. She curled her fingers through his hair again. Cold as she was, she didn't want him to stop what he was doing. Kurt's hand was slowly moving up her side, his fingers tracing each of her ribs, and her mind went blank. His mouth was hot against her neck and she grasped at the collar of his shirt.

“Let me take you inside,” he breathed into her ear, then nibbled at the edges.

“Yes.”

Teleporting always made her queasy afterwards, though she'd learned over time to deal with it, especially in the middle of a battle. This time was the easiest yet, with her brain completely distracted by his touch and her body focused on the motions of his hands and mouth over her skin.

He stepped away long enough to peel his jacket off and push hers off her shoulders, and in those few seconds, she gathered enough wits to recognize his room, and look at the door.

“Locked?”

“It will be.” He kissed her mouth as he headed toward the door.

She kicked off her shoes and pulled her shirt over her head as he turned around. He paused, the briefest hitch in his ever-graceful movements, then he was gathering her into his arms again. Kitty shoved the hem of his shirt up and paused in kissing him only long enough to pull the shirt over his head. His body was warm, the velvet softness of his fur delicious against her stomach and arms.

The bed was behind her, and she stepped back. He followed, bracing his knee and one hand on the mattress when they reached it, lowering her and then sliding her up, away from the edge. He hovered over her, one knee between her legs, but she wanted to feel him sliding over her skin, all of him touching all of her. She pushed at his shoulder, rolling him, planting her legs beside his hips so she could move against him. There was still too much in the way.

“Kurt,” she said, prying her mouth from his. She had to sit up, catch her breath, think clearly for a moment. Clarity was not to be. She could feel him now, hard between her legs, straining against his pants. She fumbled with her own, then gave up and phased them off. He had already undone the button and zipper and was pushing them down. She phased them away, too, and stretched herself over him. “God you feel good.”

“Oh, Kätzchen,” he said as his hands and legs and tail twined around her.

“Tell me what you want.”

He pressed his hips against her. “Is it not obvious?” he said, a smirk playing at his lips, dissolving into a sigh as she rubbed her thumb over his nipple. “And you, _meine Liebe_ , what do you want?”

“All of you.”

She felt the clasp of her bra flap open, and she sat up to let him take it off. He sat up too, wrapping his legs around her, and dipped her back. He kissed her, one hand moving to her breast, caressing it softly and slowly, taking his time as his fingers gently massaged their way around and around. She arched her back, moaned into his mouth and whimpered when his fingers finally found her nipple.

She wanted more. There could never be enough of him touching her. She spread her legs wide and pulled him against her. Her underpants were soaked through and she wanted them off, but he was doing things with his mouth against her breast now, and she didn't have the focus to phase anything. She grasped at his back, curled fingers in his hair, remembered to breathe.

The way he touched her set her on fire. Her skin felt hot, wet from his mouth, craving more of his touch as he moved down her body. He gripped her hips, slipped his thumbs beneath the sides of her panties as his fingers curled into her backside and his mouth tickled across her belly, working ever lower. Kitty lifted her hips as he slid her panties down her legs. He kissed his way back up, murmuring her name into her skin so that it prickled and sang.

“You too,” she said before he could work his way past her thighs. “Off.”

He gave one last kiss to her thigh and leaned over her. She reached up to touch his face, running her thumb across lips that had been on almost every inch of her skin.

He smiled, kissed the tip of her thumb, and said, “Be my guest.”

She reached down between them, her eyes on his face the whole time, finding his briefs by touch. His smile wavered and his eyes fluttered. His chest rose and fell and his body shivered as her fingers scraped lower, under the waistband, brushing against his hard cock before phasing his briefs off. He sank to his elbows as she explored him, dancing her fingers across smooth, sensitive skin, and he tucked his face against her neck. She grasped his cock gently, judging the size and shape and feel of it before gripping more firmly and moving. He moaned, a low vibration against her neck, his back still arched above her. She pushed him onto his side, kept sliding up and down his shaft, gliding her thumb over the head on each pass. He put his arm around her waist, rested his leg against her hip and growled.

Every adjustment she made, every touch, every motion, he responded. She loved it, these sounds he made, to know just how good he felt when she touched him.

“Kätzchen,” he said, and again and again, while his whole body tensed up and his arm around her waist pulled her tighter. His hips bucked hard and he came, shuddering as he pressed closer to her.

A few seconds later, he had his mouth over hers and his body crushing alongside hers, pressing her back onto the mattress. His tail tugged at her knee until she raised it, and he shimmied down her body until he was between her legs. He ran his hands along her inner thighs and then ducked his head and licked a long stripe up the center of her.

His tongue explored her, his lips caressed, and Kitty melted. As tight as she felt, she was also weak. With every flick of his tongue, every glide of his fingers along slick, sensitive flesh before they pushed inside her, she was sure she would come apart. When she did, he held her, his mouth never leaving her. One climax rolled into a second, and then he moved his mouth across tingling skin, kissing open-mouthed across her belly.

She was still trying to catch her breath when she felt him again, hands at her hips, his cock hard again.

“Kätzchen?”

“Yes. Yes, Kurt, please.”

He slid inside easily, and she clenched around him, wished she could grip him harder, full of the sensation of being so close.

“Oh god, Kurt, don't tease me. Don't stop.”

He moved, the slipping of him pulling almost all the way out was torment. Then he thrust back into her and she forgot where she was. She grabbed his hair and held on to his shoulder, raising her hips to meet each thrust. His tail snaked between them, ensuring her continued pleasure until the end. When she shook, he let go of himself and came.

  
  


Kitty barely moved when he laid down beside her. He curved himself around her, lips in her hair, one leg thrown across hers. She had her eyes closed, and he kissed her cheek softly. She smiled slowly and opened her eyes.

“So was that a good enough reason to quit the pool game early?” she said, now that her brain could function again.

“Kätzchen, I would have followed you regardless of reason, surely you know that by now.”

“And I—” the alarm cut off anything else she was about to say and had both of them scrambling, Kurt for his uniform and Kitty for clothes to run down the hall in to get her own uniform on. She cursed under her breath.

“This is why I liked the creek!” she said as she phased through the wall.


End file.
